Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of implementing the proposals of the Better Business Act campaign.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Better Business Act campaign makes a constructive proposal for a new legal duty on directors with regard to society and the environment, but the Government is not convinced that it is workable. Section 172 of the Companies Act already requires directors to have regard to the environment, employees, customers and suppliers, among other matters. Since 2019, directors of large companies have been required to make an annual statement describing how they have had regard to these matters.
Asked by: Lord Forsyth of Drumlean (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 1 February (HL4851), who he consulted when preparing his answer; and what oversight mechanisms exist to scrutinise the design and cost of security projects for the House of Lords.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Parliamentary Security Department and Strategic Estates teams were consulted when preparing the answer to HL4851, along with House of Lords Administration officials.
The design and cost of security projects for Parliament go through rigorous internal scrutiny. The Clerk of the Parliaments and Clerk of the House, as Accounting and Corporate Officers, have responsibility for approving final business cases for security projects across the Parliamentary Estate, subject to advice from the Finance Directors and other relevant officials.
The Clerk of the Parliaments’ decisions on security projects are informed by consultation with the House of Lords Commission, which ensures that the impact on Members is taken into account, and by the Finance Committee which receives regular reports regarding security expenditure. There is also significant oversight by the Finance Director. The Clerk of the House is informed by the equivalent groups and individuals in the House of Commons. Ultimately it is not the House that makes the final decision because security is a bicameral issue, and legal responsibility for safety sits with the Clerk of the Parliaments and Clerk of the House.
Governance of the Security Programme for Parliament is provided by the Quarterly Review Group (QRG). Membership includes the Clerk of the House of Commons and Clerk of the Parliaments, the Finance Directors of both Houses, the Chief Operating Officer of the House of Lords and DG Operations of the House of Commons, and a non-executive external advisor (the Director of Property for the Royal Household).
The Parliamentary Security Department and Strategic Estates also consult external experts, including the Metropolitan Police Service, the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure, and Historic England to inform the Security Programme.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she had made of the implications for her Department's policies on football governance of Manchester City FC being charged by the Premier League of being in breach of multiple financial rules.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government notes the Premier League’s recent action against Manchester City, but it does not affect the reforms that are needed in football.
We made clear in our response to the Fan Led Review that we are committed to introducing an independent regulator that will improve corporate governance, and provide greater financial oversight across the leagues. The football governance white paper will be published shortly.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has had discussions with the Financial Reporting Council over the level of compliance with the corporate governance code among FTSE 350 firms.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department has regular discussions with the Financial Reporting Council about the operation of the UK Corporate Governance Code and related issues. The Financial Reporting Council is responsible for maintaining the Code. Its annual Review of Corporate Governance Reporting assesses how companies have reported on their governance in line with the principles and provisions of the Code. The most recent, published in November 2022 assessed 100 FTSE 350 and smaller listed companies.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to publish the draft Audit Reform Bill.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government published its Response to the White Paper, ‘Restoring Trust in Audit and Corporate Governance’ on 31 May 2022. The Response stated that the reforms will be delivered by a variety of mechanisms. This includes changes already made by the regulator and by Ministerial Direction. The Government is committed to legislating when Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department’s publication of spending over £500 with a Government procurement card in November 2021, for what purpose was £1,500 paid to House of Lords Catering by UK Government Investments on 4 November 2021.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
In November 2021, the sum of £1500 was paid via a government procurement card by UK Government Investments (UKGI) for hire of a room in the House of Lords and hosting of an event for over one hundred attendees.
UKGI routinely recruits experienced corporate finance professionals who may later return to the private sector. This kind of event helps UKGI in maintaining close links to sectors and individuals with the specific experience and expertise UKGI needs to continue to be the government’s centre for excellence in corporate governance and finance.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to apply the proposed Integrated care systems requirement not to appoint individuals to the board who could reasonably be regarded as undermining the independence of the health service to all NHS bodies.
Answered by Will Quince
The Health and Care Act 2022 has provisions for integrated care boards (ICBs) to set out processes for board membership in its constitutions. The 2022 Act requires each ICB to maintain and make available to the public one or more registers of the interests of board members, members of the committees or sub-committees and employees.
Other National Health Service bodies are responsible for their own governance processes, including regarding board membership and there are no plans to review these arrangements further.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when HM Courts & Tribunals Service plans to undertake an organisation risk assessment of the Common Platform.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
An organisational risk assessment for Common Platform was developed in consultation with the PCS trade union and with input from HMCTS’ Governance & Assurance Team.
We have in place arrangements to assess and manage Display Screen Equipment (DSE) risks. These were in place before Common Platform’s introduction and the system does not require new arrangements to be created to deal with such risks. Where we can meaningfully assess and manage risks specific to a site, our existing corporate templates enable us to do so, enabling us to ‘score’ and manage that risk appropriately.
These arrangements are judged to be suitable, sufficient, and compliant with our legal obligations.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made with the draft Audit Reform Bill; what resources they have allocated to drafting the bill; and when they expect to consult stakeholders on a draft of the bill.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Work is continuing towards a draft Bill on reform of audit and corporate governance, for publication in due course.
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will bring forward legislative proposals on audit reform.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government set out its plans for audit and corporate governance reform in the 31 May 2022 Government Response to the White Paper, ‘Restoring Trust in Audit and Corporate Governance’, following a sixteen-week consultation. The Response stated that the reforms will be delivered through primary and secondary legislation and through the UK Corporate Governance Code, as well as market-driven reforms, and that companies which are large public interest entities will be required to publish resilience statements and audit and assurance policy statements. Draft legislation is being developed for publication in due course.